


Shot, and in the Dark

by Chrononautical



Category: due South
Genre: Character Study, Friendship, Gen, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, post-cotw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 19:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8766031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrononautical/pseuds/Chrononautical
Summary: Ray talks fast. Fraser thinks things through. That's never gotten in their way. A partner understands. A friend is always there when you really need him.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jodie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jodie/gifts).



“We gotta stop meeting like this.” 

Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had a private ranking of the worst city smells. Sharing it would have been unpardonably rude, but as the grandson of librarians, he could find no fault with categorization for the sake of categorization. Some weren’t so bad. An unwashed homeless man didn’t smell any more or less than an unwashed hunter, both men being just as likely to stink of sweat and cheap alcohol. Ben wasn’t one to judge or moralize on such a point. However, car exhaust, oil slicks, and air pollution all made the list, especially when there was really no way to escape them except to hide indoors breathing the cloying chemical perfumes that city people found pleasant. Air fresheners also made the list. Still, the worst of the worst was hospital antiseptic. The stinging, astringent scent overpowered everything else, making Ben essentially nose blind. Understanding the benefits and necessity of sterilization didn’t prevent him from loathing the stuff. 

“Seriously. Why is it that every time we get together one of us gets hurt?” 

Then there was the sound of the heart monitor. Edgar Allen Poe was, in Ben’s humble opinion, a somewhat overrated storyteller, but a man being driven insane by the beeping of an incessant heart monitor was quite a relatable idea. Unchanging, implacable, and constant in a way that might have been comforting if the tone wasn’t pitched in such an irritating range, the steady beep was intolerable. Being forced to listen to the thing was maddening. 

“I mean, if that’s the way it’s gotta be, then that’s the way it’s gotta be, but if we’re being honest here, I’d rather it happen to me.”

Being intubated was even worse. A nasal cannula would be bad enough. Indeed, it would have been a mixed blessing, as it would have replaced the smell of the hospital antiseptic with the somewhat sweeter scent of overly oxygenated air. Having his mouth propped open by a plastic tube shoved all the way down his throat was too much. He couldn’t swallow, and the forcible push of air into his lungs was uncomfortable. Not even being allowed to breathe on his own was the worst kind of violation.

“For one thing, I’m just better at it than you are. No, no, no, don’t argue. When I fall off the back of a van, I take a few extra days off of work and treat myself to a new suit. When you fall off the back of a van, you lose your memory and we have to spend a whole case with you acting like a pod person. If I bump my head, I get an ice pack. If you bump your head, you go blind and I have to literally carry you out of the woods. And catch a bad guy while I’m at it! I get shot, and I rest up. Or retire as the case may be. You get shot and you go all Rear Window to solve a crime no one else even knows about. Or you, well. You just gotta open your eyes and get to Rear Windowing, Benny. That’s all.” 

Of course having an IV shoved into one’s arm wasn’t exactly a delight, either. Ben knew he shouldn’t complain about such a minor discomfort. After all, he didn’t even remember the insertion, so it wasn’t a matter of pain. He just didn’t like it. The tape itched against the sensitive skin of his inner arm. The tubing felt heavier than a thin plastic cord should. It was even cold, despite the subcutaneous layer of fat that usually kept Ben insulated against such sensations. Holding his arm perfectly still, he did his best not to focus on the thing, half in and half out of his body, like a poorly aimed poacher’s harpoon in a dying harbor seal. 

“I’m not saying it wasn’t technically your turn. If you want to nit pick then yes, I’ve taken two bullets for you and only shot you once. So if you wanna be a stickler, then you taking this bullet for me just squares us up. You know, if you ignore all of the other absolutely bizarre ways you’ve managed to get hurt helping me over the years, you big mook.” 

Not to mention the hum of the air conditioning. Ben wondered if some diabolical auditory engineer had designed it to act as a perfect counterpoint to the heart monitor. It was so low that some people might have found it subliminal. Ben knew he had a broader hearing range than most. Ben knew that he shouldn’t find fault. But the damnable thing seemed to turn on or off at exactly the moment he’d finally managed to tune it out. As if it was designed for torture instead of climate control. At least the smell of the antiseptic and the forcible intubation prevented him from noticing the dry, recycled taste of the circulated air. On the other hand, if someone would open a window, maybe the room would smell better. Miami, for all of its humidity, occasionally had a pleasantly floral scent. Gardening seemed a more prevalent hobby than it had been in Chicago, at least in the areas Ray frequented. 

“Just, I appreciate you rushing down here the second you heard there was a hitman after me. I really, really do. If you’d left it at that call to give me a heads up, I’d be a smear on the pavement right now. I know that. But it’s not worth it, if you don’t. I mean. I’d rather be a smear on the pavement than have you, you know, quit on me.” 

Practically the only tolerable thing about his surroundings was Ray’s voice. The achingly familiar cadence was a true comfort. Ray had always been a safe mooring place when Ben was most at sea. Their friendship had been tested by distance and difficulty, but it was true. It was solace when there was nothing else to be had. It was home when home was thousands of miles away. Ben wanted to speak with him, or at least look at him, but his mouth was full of dratted plastic tubing. Every part of his body felt leaden and impossible to move. 

“Christ, Benny. You can’t do this to me. The docs say they’re taking you off the vent tomorrow one way or another.” 

That was excellent news. Ben wondered why Ray sounded so distressed about it. If the doctors removed him from the ventilator, they’d have to take the abominable machine out of his throat. Maybe then he could even convince someone to open a window. The whole procedure sounded like a marked improvement. 

“So here’s the deal. Free bowling for life if you open your eyes right now.”

Ray’s voice broke a little on the word now. 

“No? Okay, fine, you got me. It’s not like I was going to make you pay for bowling if you ever came down just to visit.”

Ray didn’t just sound distressed. He sounded slightly hysterical. 

“Name your price, Benny. Seriously. Anything you want, just, fuck. Just open your eyes.”

Ben opened his eyes. It was a struggle, but there was no sense griping about something that needed to be done. Ray was sitting in a chair, pulled up as close to the hospital bed as it was possible to be, but he had his face buried in his hands, paying no attention to the fruits of Ben’s labor. With monumental effort, Ben reached out to put a hand on his forearm. Ray’s head snapped up, his hands grasping for Ben’s. 

“You with me, Benny?” Ray asked with tremulous hope, moisture adding a shine to his eyes. 

Ben squeezed his hand.

Ray’s grin was so broad and sudden that it made the unshed tears spill over and race down the sides of his face. “That’s great! That’s spectacular! I’ll get the doctor. Right? I should get the doctor.”

Ben tightened his grip.

“No? You don’t want me to get the doctor?”

Ben looked pointedly at the window. 

Laughing loudly, Ray released his hand, practically leaping over the bed to open the window. “You got it, Benny. A deal’s a deal.”

Feeling his mouth twitch at the corners in what might have been a smile under better circumstances, Ben enjoyed the gentle Florida breeze. Having a partner really did make a world of difference.


End file.
